Resumo: Heritage is taken by the Unesco and by national governments as a good way to attract tourism. However in a global world and in a postcolonial context the reality in the ground can reveal other representations and interpretations. The local level - present by the difficulty of everyday living and the past memories – must be taken into account for the success or not of investments in tourism. The local context is powerful in making the facilities or, on the contrary, bringing the local conflicts to the tourism scenarios. The Mozambique Island is a case study for understanding some of these questions. The reification of the place for tourist consumption let the 'community', the owner, in the Unesco’s terms, outside of the recreated mystical past. The investors complain about the passivity of the people and reclaim changing for a better environment. The resistance for changing for a better way of life must be understood through local logic, knowledge and motivations.
